Garland's late shot leads La Salle over Ole Miss

By AP

Published: Monday, March 25, 2013 at 04:07 PM.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time La Salle advanced this far in the NCAA tournament there was no round of 16. The field was only 24 teams.

Tyrone Garland banked home a scooping layup with 2 seconds left and 13th-seeded La Salle beat Mississippi 76-74 on Sunday, vaulting the Explorers to their deepest run in the NCAA tournament since they played for the championship in 1955.

Ramon Galloway had 24 points for the upstarts from the Atlantic 10. The Explorers (24-9) played their third game in five days but showed no sign of fatigue.

In the round of 16 in Los Angeles on Friday, the Explorers will meet ninth-seeded Wichita State.

No. 12 Ole Miss (27-9) led 74-72 with 1:58 left but failed to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001.

After Tyreek Duren's two foul shots tied it 74-all at the 1:07 mark, Mississippi star and team lightning rod Marshall Henderson missed an off-balance bank shot that would have given the Rebels the lead.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time La Salle advanced this far in the NCAA tournament there was no round of 16. The field was only 24 teams.

Tyrone Garland banked home a scooping layup with 2 seconds left and 13th-seeded La Salle beat Mississippi 76-74 on Sunday, vaulting the Explorers to their deepest run in the NCAA tournament since they played for the championship in 1955.

Ramon Galloway had 24 points for the upstarts from the Atlantic 10. The Explorers (24-9) played their third game in five days but showed no sign of fatigue.

In the round of 16 in Los Angeles on Friday, the Explorers will meet ninth-seeded Wichita State.

No. 12 Ole Miss (27-9) led 74-72 with 1:58 left but failed to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001.

After Tyreek Duren's two foul shots tied it 74-all at the 1:07 mark, Mississippi star and team lightning rod Marshall Henderson missed an off-balance bank shot that would have given the Rebels the lead.

Henderson had 21 points in a game with 11 lead changes.

Duren had 19 points for La Salle and Tyrone Garland had 17. Murphy Holloway had 14 points for Mississippi, which fell one win shy of breaking the school record. Jarvis Summers had 12 and Nick Williams had 10 for the Rebels, who were a miserable 10 for 21 from the foul line.

In the frantic final seconds, Mississippi's LaDarius White missed from the top of the key and the ball scooted out of bounds while everybody went for the rebound.

The Rebels were given possession and Henderson's off-balance shot failed to draw iron. Before he could launch another try, the buzzer sounded, giving La Salle possession with 33.2 seconds left even though Henderson pleaded with an official, saying, “He took my hand off.”

The Explorers brought the ball up court, with most everybody expecting Galloway to take the shot. But Garland worked his way inside and threw up a scooping bank shot over Reginald Buckner.

Jarvis Summers missed a desperation heave for Ole Miss.

Galloway, a 6-3 guard and the Explorers’ lone senior on the starting five, played the entire 20 minutes of the first half and drilled 5 of 8 3-pointers while scoring 19 points.

Henderson's high, arching 3-pointer put the Rebels on top 20-18 but Garland, for the second time in the first half, stole a Mississippi pass and drove in, eventually getting a La Salle bucket. Duren's three-point play capped a 7-0 run and gave the Explorers a 25-20 lead.

Henderson's 3-pointer helped the Rebels tie it 25-all, then Galloway swished an unguarded 3-pointer and ignited a 10-3 La Salle run. Duren, after Galloway stole the ball in the Ole Miss backcourt, sank a free throw for a 35-28 lead.

Henderson missed his first three shots, but then began finding the touch and canned three 3-pointers, including one from the right side just ahead of the buzzer that sliced La Salle's lead to 40-38.